Taste of Minnesota has found a permanent new home in Waconia, but it's sticking with a nostalgic music format from its past.
The lineup announced Friday for the July 2-5 festival at Carver County Fairgrounds will include '70s stoner darlings Foghat, '80s MTV regulars Kip Winger and the Georgia Satellites and '90s hard rockers P.O.D. and Fuel, plus country singers Phil Vassar and Jon Pardi and a Minnesotan twofer featuring the Gear Daddies and the Suburbs.
Last summer, after a three-year hiatus, Taste of Minnesota had to be moved to Waconia on a few days' notice when heavy rains flooded the event's longtime grounds on Harriet Island in downtown St. Paul. Organizers liked the ample free parking and overall reception in the more rural setting and opted to keep it there, 40 miles west of its former location.
They're also keeping the admission policy they instituted last summer: Attendees can get in for free from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., but after 1 p.m. a $10 ticket price is charged.
More so than before the event went on hiatus, there truly is a heavy taste of Minnesota music in this year's lineup. Other locals scheduled to perform include: two former contestants from "The Voice," Kat Perkins and Mark Andrew; '60s garage-rockers the Castaways; blues stalwarts the Lamont Cranston Band, the Groove Merchants and Sena Ehrhardt; reggae vets Ipso Facto; country rocker Chris Hawkey, and the Twin Cities' own British rock legend Joey Molland, performing again with his remade lineup of Badfinger.
The headliner for Taste's July 2 concert, the Gear Daddies, have a three-night run at First Avenue this weekend.
Here's the full Taste of Minnesota 2015 schedule:
Thursday, July 2
Main stage: Gear Daddies, the Suburbs, Mark Andrews, Jenn Bostic.
Taste stage: Sena Ehrhardt, Lamont Cranston, Groove Merchants with Jimi "Primetime" Smith, King Washington, Lisa Wenger.
Friday, July 3
Main stage: Foghat, Kat Perkins, Georgia Satellites, Atlanta Rhythm Section.
Taste stage: Ipso Facto, the Good, the Bad & the Funky, Jason Paulson Band, Liam Ford Band, Matt Whipkey.
Saturday, July 4
Main stage: P.O.D., Fuel, Chris Wyse's Owl, Joey Molland's Badfinger, Blue Coupe.
Taste stage: Free Fallin', Sin City Escape, Murphy Brothers, Skywind, Polka Beats.
Sunday, July 5
Main stage: Phil Vassar, Jon Pardi, Chris Hawkey, Maiden Dixie.
Taste stage: Kip Winger, ONE, Shot Thru the Heart, Old Voltage.
Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658
